Focus Advice

[WandererInGray]

I thought I'd post something in the general forum where the authors could weigh in on how they deal with specific writing issues. (for the help of all us budding authors on the board! :D)

How do you stay focused? I'm assuming that everyone goes through "writer's block" or periods where life seems to be so out of control that focusing on writing is darn near impossible.

Do you have set deadlines and just work through the block?
Any general rituals or pampering you may engage in to get past things like this?
Anything else on this subject you can think of?

Thanks in advance for the discussion ladies and gents! :smile:

[Yasmine Galenorn]

I thought I'd post something in the general forum where the authors could weigh in on how they deal with specific writing issues. (for the help of all us budding authors on the board! :D)

How do you stay focused? I'm assuming that everyone goes through "writer's block" or periods where life seems to be so out of control that focusing on writing is darn near impossible.

Do you have set deadlines and just work through the block?
Any general rituals or pampering you may engage in to get past things like this?
Anything else on this subject you can think of?

Thanks in advance for the discussion ladies and gents! :smile:

Hi there--good idea for the thread. I personally don't use ritual or magic for anything in my writing except good fortune and success after it's turned in to the publisher. Writing's hard work, there's no way to get around that. BTW: if you read through my weblog, especially for 9/03, you'll find a lot of advice I've put in there for writers...URL is: http://www.galenorn.com/teashop/default.asp?body=asweblog.htm

However, there are a number of ways to recharge and combat writers block, and a number of reasons (at least at a professional level) why you have to do so.

Anytime you have a contract with a publisher you have deadlines and they have to be met...there's just no room for writer's block at a professional level, so you have to deal with it and get it out of the way. Writing is my career/job, and if I had a day job, I wouldn't be able to tell my boss "Gee, I just don't feel inspired to work today" and so I can't use that as an excuse with my own work either.

As I have said elsewhere, I got my contract for Totem Magic one week after my mother died, and they wanted the manuscript in six weeks. This is a little extreme, to say the least, but that was the schedule then and I managed to get it written and in, even though I burned out big time. Right now, I'm finishing the third novel which is due by the 2nd of January, I'm going through galleys on the second due by mid-December and since, in a week I have galleys for Totem Magic coming which are also due mid-December, I have to get the galleys for Jade Dragon done by Saturday so I can mail it back and be ready for galleys of TM. I simply don't have the option to allow writers block to hit me. If I do not meet deadlines, I mess up production schedules and that messes up my books.

I have several ways to keep writers block at bay (and be aware, every writer will have a different opinion on this and on writing in general):

1. I always keep two or three projects going and if I get blocked on one thing (or burnt out, I get burnt out more than blocked), I switch to another for a day or two.

2. If things are rough, I take the afternoon off and recharge myself with video games, TV, or reading, or primping (I love makeup, etc.), or by being very domestic around the house, etc. But I don't let that stretch out longer than a day now and then. I also take a couple weeks between books to recharge and read and goof around, because I put in so many hours during the time I'm working that I need a mini-vacation.

3. I have learned to NOT COMPARE. :floating: In other words, you simply can't compare yourself to another writer's work--your style will never be theirs, no matter how hard you try, and those inner demons of insecurity are set off by thinking, "Oh man, I'll never be another--fill in the blank--they're so good!" Granted, your work has to be the best it can in order to make it, but hey...it can only be in your style.

4. You can't wait for the muse if you're a professional...and most pros have found that their writing when they aren't inspired is just as good as their writing when they are inspired. Inspiration is only the starting gun. Once you realize that 80% of writing is hard work, advancing the skills, honing your prose, then you've broken through that myth of the Muse.

5. If you consistently have writer's block, then maybe writing isn't for you--maybe it's painting or music. Not everybody is cut out to be a writer, nor a brain surgeon, nor a guitar player, nor a mother...each career takes specific talents and skills.

And sometimes, it just comes down to personal discipline. You cannot succeed in this business (and writing at a professional level *is* a business) without sitting your a$$ down at the keyboard, putting your fingers on the keys, and writing. You have to want it more than that football game, more than cleaning house, more than going shopping, more than hanging out with friends as much....if you don't develop the drive and the discipline, then you won't make it.

If, however, you are writing purely for personal satisfaction, then you don't have to worry about the above. :)

Yasmine

[WandererInGray]

Hey Yasmine, thanks!
(and sorry its taken me so long to reply, my computer keeps dying and by the time I get it booted back up I forget what I was doing) :rolleyes:

Thanks too for the unintentional kick in the butt. ;) It was precisely what I needed to hear. Think I was feeling sorry for myself, when what I really needed to do was just sit down and write through it. :lol:

[DebLipp]

The hardest time to write is when nothing is charging your batteries. Lately I've had a terribly hard time writing because I've been so confined, what with recovering from my injury.

First, remember that you never feel like writing. It's not a hot fudge sundae, it doesn't tempt you. So you have to just make yourself do it, even if there are days it's as much fun as scrubbing a toilet.

Second, I allow myself breaks based on a word count. I can play Minesweeper after 300 words. I can play Spider after 1000; that sort of thing. Different writers come up with different structures. I could never write multiple projects at once the way Yas does, my brain only wants one at a time.

Third, I need non-writing stimulation to recharge; something creative but coming from a different part of the brain. Writing fires a very specific set of synapses that are linguistic and linear. So if I feel really flat, I'll do something that isn't those things. I'll paint, or bead (that's my biggie) or do something that involves color, texture, and shape -- things that aren't a part of writing at all (the makeover idea is great). This isn't taking a break -- taking a break is resting, goofing off. Taking a break is Minesweeper or TV. This is allowing creativity to flow through a different part of you in order to refresh the writing juices. It really works for me.

Finally, I totally avoid reading about the same topic I'm writing about. If I read a book on Wicca while writing about Wicca, I'll end up thinking about the other author's ideas instead of my own. When writing about Wicca, I read fiction, when writing about magic, I read history. I just stay in a place where I can't get bogged down by someone else's good idea.

[argento_occhi]

i deal with writer's block by not writing and doing other things like reading, drawing, tv, computer games, etc. When i have inspiration, then i start writing again. I write as a hobby, though, and am not a writer by trade. it's just something i enjoy doing. (ironically, i;ve had writer's block for the last three weeks. >:(
anyways, that's just the opinion of a casual writer. I've never aspired to publication. Too much in the limelight (in my opinion), which is something i definitely do not crave. I write because it relaxes me and i -- what's the word? -- i'm not really good at anything else such as sports, music, dancing, etc. My brain is too scientific for -- i've forgotten what. better stop now before i ramble on for hoursw.
brightest blessings,
a very tired argento_occhi

[aluokaloo]

I deal with writer's block by having at least three projects going, taking a break and stretching for a while or a quick walk you can find all kinds of inspiration out in the open air, for me anyways it gets my creative juices flowing again, maybe having a light snack, or even just zoning out for a couple of hours. Letting the mind wander brings all kinds of funky little things that you can do when you're writing.